The present invention relates to beds, and more particularly to a multi-positionable bunk bed assembly that includes a first and a second multi-positionable mattress frame assembly.
Beds of various types have existed since man discovered that interposing a cushioning means between his or her body and the ground made sleeping more comfortable than lying directly on the ground. The conventional bed usually consists of a generally vertically disposed headboard member placed at the head of the bed, a generally vertically disposed footboard member placed at the foot of the bed, and a generally horizontally disposed mattress frame that extends there between, and is coupled to each of the headboard and footboard. A box spring usually overlays the mattress frame, and a mattress overlays the box spring. The generally planar upper surface of the mattress comprises the sleeping surface on which the user lays while sleeping.
A bunk bed is a variant on the traditional bed that has the advantage of providing two individual sleeping surfaces, while requiring no more floor space than a traditional bed having a single sleeping surface. A bunk bed usually consists of an especially tall, (e.g. five to seven feet high) vertically disposed headboard and footboard. A mattress frame is attached to each of the headboard and footboard and extends there between in a relatively low position, usually between one and two feet from the floor surface. A second mattress frame is disposed above the first mattress frame, and also extends between the headboard and footboard. The second mattress frame is connected to the headboard and footboard approximately four feet to six feet from the floor. A first mattress is placed over the first mattress frame, and a second mattress is placed over the second mattress frame. The spatial separation between the first and second mattress frames should be sufficient to ensure that enough space between the upper surface of the lower mattress and the bottom of the second mattress frame exists to provide a non-clastrophobic atmosphere for the user sleeping on the lower mattress.
A ladder can be attached to the upper mattress frame to enable the occupant of the upper mattress to climb up to the elevated second mattress. Alternately, one or both of the headboard and footboard can be designed to include ladder-like cross members to enable the occupant of the second (upper) bunk to climb up the cross-member to gain ingress to the mattress surface.
Various types of mattress frames can be employed with a bunk bed. Probably the most common mattress frame is a twin-sized steel mattress frame having four connected perimetral steel rails that define a generally rectangular aperture. One or more cross members (or alternately a chain-link like web of metal wire) can extend between the perimetral rails to support the middle of the mattress. Further, some bunk beds contain double-bed sized frames, and one particularly popular form of bunk bed includes a double-sized lower mattress frame, and a twin-sized upper mattress frame.
A further known variant is to replace the lower mattress frame with a so-called xe2x80x9cfutonxe2x80x9d frame. A futon frame generally comprises a jointed, double-bed sized mattress frame that can be moved between a generally planar xe2x80x9cbedxe2x80x9d position, and a xe2x80x9ccouch position,xe2x80x9d where one of the two jointed sections of the mattress frame is disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the other section of the jointed mattress frame to form a back rest.
A particularly flexible, bendable mattress is placed over the frame so that when the futon frame is placed in its couch position, a portion of the mattress rests against the back rest portion of the frame. When so configured, the mattress frame and mattress take on the general configuration of a couch having a back rest. Futon-type mattress frames provide the user with more flexibility than conventional, uni-positional frames, because, when the mattress frame is in its xe2x80x9ccouchxe2x80x9d position, it provides a more comfortable seating surface than a conventional planar mattress.
The primary advantage of a bunk-type bed is that it provides two individual sleeping surfaces, while requiring the floor space of only a traditional single bed. As such, a bunk bed has particular applicability in situations where it is desirable to maximize useable floor space, and to minimize the floor space within a room that is occupied by the bed.
The usual domain of bunk-type beds are children""s rooms, college dormitory rooms, and institutional dormitories, such as army barracks and jails. Older persons usually do not prefer bunk beds because of the inconvenience faced by the occupant of the upper bunk gaining ingress to, and egress from the upper bunk. However, bunk beds have gained an especially large amount of popularity for younger users in space-confined areas, such as college students in dormitories.
Typically, a college dormitory room is no larger than a standard bedroom. Notwithstanding the space constraints, a college dormitory room usually comprises the primary living space of two people, and serves, effectively, as a small studio apartment. To make the dorm room feel more like home, students often cram several articles of furniture and appliances within the small space, such as a pair of desks, upon which the students can study and prepare their homework assignments; a refrigerator and/or microwave oven for enabling the student to cook snacks such as pizza, and keep beverages cold; a computer stand on which to place the student""s various computer components, and, of course, a television set. The limited area of most dorm rooms places floor space at a premium. As such, bunk beds have gained significant popularity, as the floor space freed-up by the use of a bunk bed helps to make a dorm room feel much less crowded.
As alluded to above, a typical college student uses his dorm room not only for sleeping, but also for entertaining herself and her guests. The small amount of floor space available in most dorm rooms prevents the room from comfortably accommodating two beds and a couch. Even with bunk beds, many dorm rooms do not have enough space to accommodate a couch, or more than one comfortable guest seating chair. Although a bed can serve as a seating surface, sitting on a planar bed is usually uncomfortable for long periods of time, as a traditional bed provides no back support. As such, one problem associated with traditional beds, and even traditional bunk beds, is that while they do provide a comfortable surface for sleeping, they provide a poor surface for sitting, and do not function well when the user desires a seating surface on which to sit while reading, watching television, or entertaining guests.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a bunk bed that not only can provide a generally planar surface for sleeping, but that also can provide a comfortable seating surface for the user.
One problem faced by college administrators is attracting students to, and retaining students within their particular institutions. One feature used by administrators to attract students is the quality of living space provided for the students by the university. Many administrators believe that the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of the students"" dormitory is a significant factor in a student""s decision to attend a particular institution. As such, the incorporation of a bunk bed into a dormitory room can help to make the dormitory room xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d larger than a room with two twin beds, thus making the dormitory more attractive to a potential student by making it feel less confining and claustrophobic. Nonetheless, as almost all colleges offer bunk beds to their students, the mere provision of a bunk bed in a dormitory room does not provide the institution with any significant edge over its competitors.
Another problem faced by dormitory administrators is providing dormitory furniture that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a wide-range of tastes and personal preferences of the student body. Although many students prefer bunk beds because of the increased amount of floor space they provide, some students do not like bunk beds, either because they do not enjoy sleeping while elevated high off the floor, or alternately, because they do not wish to suffer the inconvenience associated with the climb up into, and the climb down out of a bunk bed.
One obvious solution to this problem is for the university to maintain a large amount of bunk beds, and a large amount of traditional, single twin beds in its inventory. Unfortunately, this obvious solution has some obvious drawbacks. It is difficult to predict the exact mix of students who will prefer bunk beds as compared to twin single beds. Thus, in order to accommodate all of the students, the university would be required to have a significantly greater than necessary number of beds, so that the university could provide each pair of students with the particular desired type of bed arrangement. The excess inventory required to accommodate all students results in additional expense to the dormitory administrator and the institution.
This problem is further complicated by the fact that students enjoy variation in their room arrangements. As such, a student may desire to employ a pair of single, side-by-side-type twin beds for part of her stay at the dormitory, but employ bunk beds during other times. With traditional twin beds and bunk beds, accommodating these changing desires would require the student or the university to spend a substantial amount of time interchanging bed components.
Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a bed system that is sufficiently flexible so that it is capable of being used both as a bunk bed, and as a pair of side-by-side traditional twin beds.
A further problem faced by dormitory administrators is that students have differing preferences relating to the height at which they prefer to place their beds off the floor surface. Some students prefer having the lower bed frame and mattress disposed very close to the ground, and the upper bed frame relatively high, because to do so, when using bunk beds, maximizes the xe2x80x9chead spacexe2x80x9d between the upper surface of the lower mattress and the bottom surface of the frame of the upper bed frame. This additional head space enables the student to have more room to sit upright on the lower bunk, and also helps to make the lower bunk space seem less claustrophobic. However, some prefer the upper bed to be placed at a relatively lower level, as it makes the student""s climb into the upper bunk less difficult.
As another variation, some students prefer a relatively raised lower bed frame to provide extra space between the lower bed frame and the floor. This extra space underneath the lower bed frame can then be used for the storage of books, suitcases, sports equipment and other personal items. Some known bed frames are designed to provide enough space under the lower bed frame to enable a furniture piece consisting of an extremely low (e.g. one or two drawer""s high) chest of drawers to be placed under the lower bed frame. Unfortunately, many traditional known bunk beds do not accommodate this variation in tastes.
It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a bedding system that permits the user to vary the height of the bed frames to accommodate the user""s particular taste and preferences.
In accordance with the present invention, a bunk bed assembly is disclosed that comprises a first bed assembly and a second bed assembly. The first and second bed assemblies each include a headboard and a footboard. The headboard of the first bed assembly is removably mateably coupled to the headboard of the second bed assembly; and the footboard of the first bed assembly is removably mateably coupled to the footboard of the second bed assembly. Through this removable mateable coupling, the first and second bed assemblies can be mateably coupled together in each of a first, bunk bed position wherein the second bed assembly is positioned on top of the first bed assembly; and a separated bed position wherein the first bed assembly is detached from the second bed assembly, to permit the first and second bed assemblies to be positioned independently with respect to each other.
Each of the headboards of the first and second bed assemblies includes a first and second spaced, vertical array of bed frame receiving members. Similarly, each of the footboards of the first and second bed assemblies includes a first and second vertical array of spaced, bed frame receiving members. A first bed frame is removably attachable to the first headboard and the first footboard. A second bed frame is removably attachable to the second headboard and footboard.
Each of the first and second bed frames includes a pair of spaced, headboard engaging members for selectively, removably engaging the bed frame receiving members of the headboards. The bed frames also include a pair of spaced footboard engaging members for selectively, removably engaging the frame receiving members of the footboards.
One feature of the present invention is that it includes a first and second vertical array of spaced bed frame receiving members. This feature has the advantage of enabling the bed frame assembly to be adjustably positioned upon the headboards and footboards, to enable the user to vary the height of the bed frame from the floor. By doing so, the user can better adjust the bed to suit his particular preferences, and to achieve a wider variety of configurations.
A second feature of the present invention is that each of the bed frame assemblies is movable between a generally planar bed position, and an angled couch position. When in the bed position, the bed frame assembly has a width that approximates that of a double bed. This feature has several advantages. First, this feature permits a bed frame having a footprint width of a twin-sized bed to serve as a double bed better suited for accommodating additional sleeping space, or more than one occupant within the bed. Another advantage obtained by this feature is that each of the two bed assemblies can be moved independently between a bed position and a couch position. This independent movement provides the user with a great deal of flexibility with respect to the configurations of the bed.
For example, if the bed is used by a single person, that single person may wish to keep one of the bed frame assemblies permanently in its planar bed position, to provide a sleeping surface, while keeping the other bed frame assembly in its couch position to provide a comfortable seating surface for entertaining guests, watching television or reading. When this feature is combined with the ability of the first and second bed frames to be separated, an even wider array of configurations is available. As will be discussed in more detail below, the bed frame of the present invention can provide xe2x80x9cstadium seatingxe2x80x9d by varying the position of the two bed frame assemblies on their respective posts, and placing both bed frame assemblies in their couch position. The relatively higher bed frame assembly can be placed behind the relatively lower bed frame assembly, to permit those sitting in the relatively higher, rearwardly positioned bed frame assembly to easily see over the heads of those sitting in front of them on the relatively lower, forwardly positioned bed frame assembly.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the drawings and the detailed description, presented below, that describe the best mode of practicing the invention as perceived presently by the applicant.